It is an object of the invention to solve the above described problem and to provide an accommodating and transport device, by which the transport, on the one hand, and the assembling, on the other hand, of steps of an escalator having a reduced overall height or pallets of a moving walkway can be simplified.
Furthermore, it is an aim of the subject of invention to provide a method for accommodating, transporting as well as taking out steps of an escalator having a reduced overall height, or pallets of a moving walkway, by which method a simplified storage of such steps or pallets for transport purposes will be possible and simultaneously a simplified assembling method of such steps or pallets can be achieved.
The above and other objects may be achieved in accordance with the invention, by which there is provided, in one embodiment, an accommodating and transport device for prefabricated steps of an escalator which are reduced in terms of their overall height or prefabricated pallets of a moving walkway, comprising a frame body including lateral guide tracks for receiving rollers connected to the steps or pallets, wherein the steps or pallets are stackable inside the frame body for transport purposes.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for accommodating and transporting prefabricated steps of an escalator that have a reduced overall height or prefabricated pallets of a moving walkway, comprising: connecting individual steps or pallets to at least one drive element to form a step or pallet band; and inserting the step or pallet band into a frame body comprising guide tracks for the steps or pallets, such that the individual steps or pallets are stacked within the frame body closely adjacent to each other.
According to a further embodiment, the method includes guiding the step or pallet band out of the frame body and inserting the step or pallet band into a base body of the escalator or the moving walkway in an assembly area of the escalator or moving walkway.
Accordingly, there is provided an accommodating and transport apparatus that can advantageously accommodate all the steps and pallets required for an escalator or a moving walkway. In comparison to known techniques, the apparatus of the present invention can accommodate a plurality of folded steps or pallets and allow the erecting engineers at the site of installation to insert the step or pallet band in one piece into the respective frame body.
According to a further embodiment, rollers located laterally of the steps or pallets are guided in the lateral guide tracks of the frame body, wherein the folded steps or pallets are provided in a vertical hanging position.
According to another embodiment, the folded steps or pallets are respectively connected to at least one laterally arranged drive element, in particular a drive chain, such that the distance of the individual steps or pallets is defined.
According to still a further embodiment, the threading of the individual steps or pallets in the area of the upper guide track of the frame body, may be facilitated by the provision of a ramp that extends with a predetermined inclination angle from the upper guide track into the direction of the lower guide track.
The preassembled step or pallet band may be placed in the accommodating and transport device according to the invention, by supplying the individual steps or pallets in an essentially horizontal direction and subsequently turned over the ramp into the vertical direction. This measure permits forming a space saving transport mechanism.
Advantageously, a complete set of steps or pallets is provided for each escalator or each moving walkway, which set will be covered, according to another aspect of the invention, with a film, in particular a shrink film after storage in the workshop.